Tree Before Turkey - Christmas starts at EPCOT

I went to EPCOT yesterday morning and thought about my Magic Friends as I walked around looking at the Christmas decorations. The Turkey Before Tree war has been going pretty strong here, and the hilarious arguments from both sides had me in stitches. I was alone in EPCOT, really feeling alone but not lonely. The park was nearly empty early on, and even at 11:00 I was with maybe 25 people waiting for the rope near France to drop.

So here is Tree Before Turkey. :xmas:

The Poinsettia plants were everywhere in EPCOT and the vibrant red stood out against the stark grey of the opening day plaque.

As always, the central planter at park entrance is complete with the Christmas tree forest.

The Photopass set up makes it extremely difficult to take complete pictures of the front of the planter. I had to improvise and just get a part of the display. Looks like Donald is staying out of trouble so far.

Even Club Cool is in the Christmas spirit. As with every solo trip, I headed into Club Cool and mooched off them for some Chinese Watermelon soda. It's my favorite. Here's their big Holiday display:

And all the EPCOT 2009 merchandise is in Mouse Gear. I can't tell if these are huge shooters or small glasses - they are an odd size. There's t-shirts and other items with this same design on them. It's especially fantastic that they have World Showcase depicted on the front. The screen printing was quality and the detail extremely nice:

............more to come.

 

[rbrower]

Great title Shannon! :lol:
Thanks for the pictures! I can't wait for the rest of it.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

YOUR THREAD TITTLE IS BACKWARDS!!!!:fork::fork::fork::fork::fork:



:lol::kiss: Love it so far, Shannon...Can't wait for more!

 

[EPCOT.nut]

The tree in World Showcase Plaza is up but they don't have the long tunnel of lights up yet. I sure hope they do that again this year, as I find it enchanting at night. The foreboding sky behind the Christmas tree gives this shot a wintery look. I would say it was about 80 degrees when this picture was taken. By midnight, when I left, the temperature had dropped at least 20 degrees.

The shoppe had its Christmas overlay on the windows, and as I peered inside the closed shop, I marveled at the new ornaments and other Christmas items. I can't wait to go back and do my Holiday shopping.

France had some light decorations out, nothing really shouting Christmas, just a small accent to the Impressions building.

And I was delighted to be the second customer into the French bakery. Armed with a chocolate eclair and a cappuccino I headed to the empty tables outside to eat in peace.

And to laugh, realizing they gave me happy Christmas napkins and a Halloween coffee cup. The combination is classic. :lol:

Mmmmmmmmmmmore to come.....:slurp::lol:

 

[EPCOT.nut]

Great title Shannon! :lol:
Thanks for the pictures! I can't wait for the rest of it.

Thanks! :lol: It was a great day...I planned this TR and texted turkey-boy to let him know it was gonna happen. :lol:

YOUR THREAD TITTLE IS BACKWARDS!!!!:fork::fork:



:lol::kiss: Love it so far, Shannon...Can't wait for more!

:fork::lol: Thanks. Where's James?

 

[rbrower]

Have they had those napkins in the past? I don't remember them. Just wondering.

 

[rbrower]

Thanks! :lol: It was a great day...I planned this TR and texted turkey-boy to let him know it was gonna happen. :lol:



:fork::lol: Thanks. Where's James?

:lol: He doesn't seem to have taken it to well. :shrug::lookaroun

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Thanks! :lol: It was a great day...I planned this TR and texted turkey-boy to let him know it was gonna happen. :lo


:fork::lol: Thanks. Where's James?

He will be here soon...In all his Christmassy attire..:hurl::lol:

And I knew this was coming, yes.:dazzle:

l: He doesn't seem to have taken it to well. :shkaroun

I like it, I really do.:lol:

 

[rbrower]

He will be here soon...In all his Christmassy attire..:hurl::lol:

And I knew this was coming, yes.:dazzle:


I like it, I really do.:lol:

Liar.....:lookaroun
:lol:

 

[EPCOT.nut]

England had a window display that made me giggle - the 'Peace' wreath in the Beatles merchandise was just perfect. Other guests were remarking also.

And it was sadly a little too early for a pint, but I was overjoyed to see that they decorated the Rose & Crown check-in, as well as the beer counter. I would have liked to see it open, but we can't always get what we want.

By the time I made it over to the America Pavilion the sky became angry and rain threatened. Rain didn't happen but it really wanted to. I think the wind blew it away from EPCOT. Here's a look at the wintry sky over World Showcase lagoon.

The Christmas Tree in front of American Adventure was decorated so much the tree was barely visible underneath the glitz. The tree at the across the lagoon was sadly lacking in decorations by comparison.

And what TR would be complete without some new merchandise pictures? The Pavilions will all have the same shirt - just customized to suit the country. This is America's:

Also - FYI the keychains and magnets (the old style white with the country names on them) are being sold at a discount because they are getting rid of those styles. You may want to get them before they are gone.

Moar to come -

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Loooving it!:sohappy:

 

[rbrower]

Of course me and Evan are the first two to check your update. :lol:
That doesn't surprise me.
The report is going great so far Shan! Keep it coming!

 

[EPCOT.nut]

Germany always has the Christmas spirit, and yesterday was no exception. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks and see if they add to the decorations. Here's what they have so far:

Their gorgeous glass ornaments:

The old-fashioned little Christmas tree in the shop right beside the glass ornaments:

The miniature train in Germany didn't have the Christmas decorations yet. That's my favorite part of Holiday Around the World - seeing all the mini decorations in the train village. I thought about it for a while and realized maybe we have a scrooge lizard scaring everyone away:

And as I laughed at Godzilla, I nervously watched the sky across the lagoon:

More to come (if I don't get rained on...:lol::lol::lookaroun)

 

[EPCOT.nut]

Norway had a lot more Christmas spirit than I expected this early in the season. The in-store displays were really nice, and there were lots of people shopping in there and taking pictures with the viking hats.

The only thing that truly bugs me is that a lot of the ornaments they sell in Norway have "Made in China" labels on them. Anyone else notice that? The tree was beautiful, though.

More to come..........

 

[EPCOT.nut]

And lastly, Mexico. When I entered the Pyramid-Pavilion, I was taken in by the gorgeous lights and the darkened ambiance. Talk about a romantic and beautiful place. I tried to do the decorations justice with the pictures - don't miss this pavilion if you get a chance to do Holiday Around the World.

If I wasn't by myself I would have had lunch at San Angel. It's truly one of my favorites and it was beautiful.

This year I am going to make myself an ROE Earth Barge ornament for my tree.

Thanks for checking out my Tree Before Turkey trip report. I don't have a problem with the early Christmas decorations (unlike someone I know :fork:.....:lol

 

[rbrower]

And lastly, Mexico. When I entered the Pyramid-Pavilion, I was taken in by the gorgeous lights and the darkened ambiance. Talk about a romantic and beautiful place. I tried to do the decorations justice with the pictures - don't miss this pavilion if you get a chance to do Holiday Around the World.



If I wasn't by myself I would have had lunch at San Angel. It's truly one of my favorites and it was beautiful.






This year I am going to make myself an ROE Earth Barge ornament for my tree.





Thanks for checking out my Tree Before Turkey trip report. I don't have a problem with the early Christmas decorations (unlike someone I know :fork:.....:lol

*cough*Evan*cough* :lookaroun

Great trip report Shannon!

 

[EPCOT.nut]

Loooving it!:sohappy:

Thanks! I did get a picture of Hanukkah decorations for sale in the Emporium in Magic Kingdom. If Flickr would hurry up and upload the rest of my pics it would be NICE. :lol:

Of course me and Evan are the first two to check your update. :lol:
That doesn't surprise me.
The report is going great so far Shan! Keep it coming!

True, and thanks! You'll get to see it in person soon - maybe there will be more decorations up by then!

 

[rbrower]

Thanks! I did get a picture of Hanukkah decorations for sale in the Emporium in Magic Kingdom. If Flickr would hurry up and upload the rest of my pics it would be NICE. :lol:



True, and thanks! You'll get to see it in person soon - maybe there will be more decorations up by then!

No problem!
And I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures.

 

[unkadug]

Great report :wave:

What??? No Christmas beer pictures?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

And lastly, Mexico. When I entered the Pyramid-Pavilion, I was taken in by the gorgeous lights and the darkened ambiance. Talk about a romantic and beautiful place. I tried to do the decorations justice with the pictures - don't miss this pavilion if you get a chance to do Holiday Around the World.

If I wasn't by myself I would have had lunch at San Angel. It's truly one of my favorites and it was beautiful.

This year I am going to make myself an ROE Earth Barge ornament for my tree.

Thanks for checking out my Tree Before Turkey trip report. I don't have a problem with the early Christmas decorations (unlike someone I know :fork:.....

And I'm proud of it!!

LOL

GREAT TR! Anything from MK?

*cough*Evan*cough* :lookaroun

Great trip report Shannon!

:wave: